Srtaff Reports

'The Road' ** 1/2 It's a miracle "The Road" works at all, given the harsh, murmuring severity of its source, the 2006 Cormac McCarthy novel full of minimally punctuated dialogue,...

'Ninja Assassin' * 1/2 Ninja hear the one about the assassin named Raizo, played by the Korean pop star and budding actor called Rain? In "Ninja Assassin," which is numbingly...

Adam Lambert, 'For Your Entertainment' **1/2 (of 4) At last, an "American Idol" finalist with a personality to match the pipes. That was the nearly universal take on Adam Lambert...

Rihanna, 'Rated R' ***1/2 (out of 4) "To those of you who think you can take it, we say welcome to the Mad House." The opening monologue, intoned by a...

In the spirit of second chances, let's briefly revisit a few shows in their first and second seasons to see where they are and whether I'll stick with them. 'Parks...

'The Messenger' ***1/2 Some jobs are dirtier than others, and after seeing director and co-writer Oren Moverman's beautifully acted new film "The Messenger," you'll be better acquainted with some of...

'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans' ***1/2 "Anything's possible in this storm!" says the man with the badge in Werner Herzog's delirious "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,"...

'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' *** The following is a capsule review of Michael Phillips' review of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." For the full review, visit chicagotribune.com/talkingpictures. "The Twilight...

'The Blind Side' ** "The Blind Side" fumbles a remarkable, true story of an African-American product of the West Memphis projects who ended up at a Christian school and in...

'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' *** "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," also known as "Twilight: The Squeakquel," is actually pretty good -- a tick better than the first "Twilight," which...